Blank-edge-exposing mechanism for blank-gumming cylinders.



M. E. PETERS, G. H. FATH' & A. F. MILLER. BLANK EDGE EXPOS-ING MECHANISM roa BLANK summme CYLINDERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. IBIS.

Patented @eph 11, 1917.

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MELVILLE E. PETERS, GEORGE H. FATH, AND ALBERT F. MILLER, 0F DENVER, COLO- RADO, ASSIGNORS TO THE PETERS PATENT RIGHTS COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. if, 1917..

.Application filed April 28, 1916. Serial No. 94,208.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MELVILLE E. Pn'rnns, GEORGE H. FATH, and ALBERT F. MILLER, citizens of the United States of America, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Blank-Edge- Exposing Mechanism for Blank-Gumming Cylinders, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in blank edge exposing mechanism for blank gumming cylinders; and the objects of our invention are:

First, to provide a blank gumming cylinder provided with mechanism for releasing the advancing edges of the blanks from the cylinder after they have been coated with gum. And

Second, to provide a simple blank edge releasing mechanism for releasing the advancing edges of blanks in such a manner that they can be gripped by suitable mech anism and rolled off from the gumming cylinder as it rotates after it' has been coated with a coat of gum.

We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a side view partly in section,

'of a blank gumming cylinder, in which the said cylinder is provided with a plurality of rectangular apertures, and has mounted therein automatically operating segment members for opening and closing said aperture.

Fig. 2, is a vertical transverse sectional view thereof.

' Fig. 8, is an end view of the same, showing the cam-operated lever for rocking the segment members, and the spring for holding them to close the apertures.

Fig. 4: is a diagrammatic view in the form of an end elevation of the blank feeding,

the blank gumming, the blank gripping and the blank conveying mechanism, showing the cotiperation of these elements with our blank edge exposing cylinder;

Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views. Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 represent a blank gumming cylinder embodying one form of our invention. i 1

chine.

Our present cylinder is provided with closed end flanges on its opposite ends on which hub portions 3 are cast through the axial center of which and of the cylinder its supporting shaft l extends. This gumming cylinder is provided with inclosed peripheral, openings 5.

These inclosed gaps extend through the shell of the cylinder and they are spaced at equal distances apart across the longitudi nal length of the cylinder. lVe preferably illustrate nine of these openings, but more or less of them can be used if desired. This cylinder rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the upwardly advancing edges of these openings are in axial and longitudinal alinement across the length of the cylinder.

This gumming cylinder is preferably made of brass, and on each end flange to one side of its shaft hub a boss 6 is formed, and a small shaft 7 is extended entirely across this cylinder and through and beyond both flanges far enough to have mounted on and secured to it nine rock arms 8. All of these arms are securely fastened to the shaft 7 by pins 9. One of each of these arms is secured to the shaft 7 centrally opposite to the inclosed gaps 5. Each of these rock arms 8 is provided at its outer end with. a

curved plate 10, which we term a segment plate. Each of these curved plates when properly fitted into its registeriu g gap forms a part of the circumferential shell of the gumming cylinder, and its outer curved surface is a true curved part of the circumferential surface of the gumming cylinder, as it is fitted tightly between the side and end edges of the gap, and their outer surfaces are turned, machined and finished in a lathe as one integrally surfaced cylinder.

It is the function of these segment plates to recede into the interior of the cylinder and expose the gap in the cylinder and thus free the edge of the blank and expose its edge, in order that it may be gripped by suitable finger grippers and be peeled off of the gumming cylinder, as will be pres: ently described.

Consequently the cooperating edges of each gap and also of each segment plate must lit closely enough against each other to prevent any glue from working down into the interior of the cylinder through the side and end joints, and yet at the same time the joints must be so formed that the segment plate will move down into the interior of the cylinder almost instantaneously at a predetermined point n each revolution of the gumming cylinder.

Consequently we have given to each edge of each of the gaps and to each similar edge of each segment plate, a different and special treatment. Thus the edge 12 of each gap is formed with a lower receding step portion 13 which leaves the upper edge in the form of an overhanging lip 14, and the adjacent engaging-edge of each segment plate is recessed in like manner, the lip 15 of each segment engaging the lips 1 f the gaps of the cylinder. This leaves a clearance space between the edge 12 of the gaps and the engaging edges 15 of the segment, whichinsures a tight fit at the surface of the cylinder.

The opposite edges 16 of the gaps are provided with under-cutting lips 17 and receding step portions 18, and the engaging edges 19 of the segments are curved to engage and fit the projecting lips 17 of the gaps, when they move up against them. The rock arm extensions of the segments pen mit them to swing inwardly on their pivotal'shaft 7, and they are normally held in place against the edges of the gap by an expansive tension spring 20. This spring is mounted on a pivotal stem 21, .vhich is provided with a flat shouldered head portion 22,

' that is pivotally mounted on a screw bolt 28, which extends through it and through one end of a rock arm El, that is secured on one end of the shaft 7. The stem 21 extends to and loosely through an abutment lu 25, that is pivotally secured to the adjacent end flange. There is one of these pivotal stems and one abutment lug and the stem 21 is attached at one end to the rock arm 24, and the expansive tension coiled spring is mounted on the stem between its head and the abutment lug 25. The free end of this spring supporting stem works reciprocally and'loosely in the lug 25, as all the segments move back into the cylinder and then out again into the gaps, on their shaft 7, at a predetermined point in each revolution of the cylinder, as follows:

Each of the segments is actuated to move into and out of the gaps of the cylinder by a grooved cam 26, which is securely bolted to the inside of the adjacent side frame of the gumming machine, in which the cylin der 1 is mounted. The, cam engages a laterally projecting roller 27,"that is secured to the free end of the rack arm'24a, that is secured on the end ofthe shaft 7, as previously described. The roller 27 projects beyond the adjacent end of the gumming cylinder into the cam, which is set so that as the gumming cylinder rotates the cam will engage the roller 27 at the proper time, and thus move all of the segments reciprocally and simultaneously through he length of the shaft 7 and against their spring 20.-

Our bresent gapped blankgummingrcyl inder is adapted to be rotatedbetween and work cooperatively: with a blank feeding roller and a blank gripping, transmitting.

'providedwith an'operatively regulated adhesive gum distributing mechanism, and it receives blanks or labels from any automatioally operating blank-feeding rollerythat particular roller we have illustrated'and de scribed in our pending application Serial No. 68,271, filed December 22, 1915, isso relatively positioned to the blank feeding roller that itreceives the advancing feeding edge of the blank on itsusegment plate, and as this plate as well as the wholesurface of the cylinder is coated with gum, the blank sticks to them and is fed forwardly around and lies against and sticks to the gummed surface of the cylinder as it rotates, the feed roller being arranged to press the blank against the surface of the cylinder, which causes the blank to feed off from it onto the cylinder. The gumming cylinder carries the blank around with it in the direction of the arrow, to a predetermined point in its rotary movement, when the roller at the end ofthe extension of the rock arm engages the cam 26, whereby the segment plates are moved inwardly into the cylinderand the end portion of the blank, which rested on it, is released, freed and extends. partially over each gap in the Cylinder; Instantly thereafter, the exposededgexportions :of the blank that .lie exposedinthese inclosed gaps are caught by automatically opera-ting grip pers, carried by an endless conveyer which passes over a transmission cylinder adjoining the gumming cylinder, and the blank is stripped from the gumming cylinder and deposited on the conveyer, whence it is conveyed to a suitable box covering machine. The transmission cylinder and the conveyer with its grippers are illustrated in Fig. 4 to convey an idea of how the blank is removed from the gumming cylinder. In this figure, however, the reference numeral 46 designates the feed roller; 47, the blank holding table; 48, the gum supplying roller; 49, the gum pan; 50, the gum supply adjusting roller; 51, the gum distributing roller that distributes the gum onto the gumming cylinder; 52, the transmission cylinder; 53, the conveyer and the grippers that grip the edge of the blank in the gaps of the cylinder, when the segment plates are withdrawn from the gaps and expose the edge of the blanks in the gaps. As the blank is stripped from the gumming cylinder, the cam 26 throws all of the segments 10 out to close the gaps in the cylinder, and they are all held in this position by the spring 20, until they are again moved inward by the cam to open the gaps.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a blank gumming cylinder for blank gumming machines, a rotating cylinder provided with a plurality of inclosed gaps extending lengthwise of it, a segment plate fitting closely each of said gaps and having itis outer surface of the same curvature as said cylinder, means for providing a continuously flowing regulated coat of gum to the surface of saidgapped cylinder and its several segments, means for feeding blanks to and with their advancing forward edges pressed overlappingly onto and against said segment plates and the adjacent portions of said cylinder, means including a cam actuated and resiliently controlled mechanism for reciprocally moving said plates to open and close said gaps to expose the advancing feeding edge of said blank in said gaps at a predetermined part of each of said cylinders revolutions, and means for gripping and removing said blank from said cylin- 2. In a blank gumming cylinder, the combination with operative gum distributing means, operative blank feeding means and operative blank gripping transmitting and conveying means, of a blank gumming cylinder rotatably mounted between said blank feeding and blank transmitting means, provided with a plurality of gaps, a reciprocating plate provided with a peripheral surface of the same circumferential curvature as said cylinder arranged to fit into and fill each gap, means for providing the surface of said cylinder with a coat of adhesive gum of any desired thickness, means for rotating said cylinder to receive the advancing edge of each blank as it feeds from said feed roller 011 its gap fitting segment plates and the adjacent surface of said cylinder, means including a cam engaging roller for moving all of said segments simultaneously to open all of said gaps instantaneously to expose the advancing edge of each blank in each of said gaps, and means including said blank gripping and transmitting and conveying mechanism for engaging the exposed edge of each blank in said gaps when said plates are withdrawn from them and for removing each blank from said cylinder to said transmission and conveying mechanism.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

MELVILLE E. PETERS. GEORGE H. FATH. ALBERT F. MILLER. Witnesses:

Gr. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ELIZABETH SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

